Colorado Radio Host Alan Berg Gunned Down 29 Years Ago Today

Radio talk show hosts are supposed to be controversial - that's what makes people want to listen. Even though you may disagree with most everything he or she says, and every time  you listen you feel angered by what the host says, you feel compelled to listen. You can't help yourself. Alan Berg was that kind of  radio host.

I listened to Alan Berg quite a bit during my senior year at Brush High School. That's when Berg started at radio station KOA in Denver, where he worked until his death at age 50. Berg was gunned down on June 18, 1984 in the driveway of his home by members of the white nationalist group, The Order. According to a former producer, Berg was on a death list because he was Jewish, and on the air challenged the beliefs of an author who wrote that Jews were from the family line of the devil.

Berg was more than controversial. He was abrasive,polarizing,  obnoxious, opinionated, and  bull-headed. He was very good at his craft. Often times as a listener, you weren't sure if he really held the stance that he was taking on the air, or if he was simply playing devil's advocate to make the guest or caller prove their point - and to create some compelling radio.

One day after listening to a broadcast in which he questioned the very existence of God, I wrote Mr. Berg a letter. Out of concern for his eternal soul, I pretty much begged him to open his mind to the possibility of God, and to consider what his eternal destination might be. I never  did hear back from Mr. Berg, nor do I know if he even read my letter.

When word of his death came across the national news, I was preparing for my third year of college in pursuit of a communications degree and already beginning my career in broadcasting. I was affected by his death both by the fact that I had been an avid listener and by  the fact that we were both in the industry. Though I didn't know him personally, now it was like he was a colleague. I felt a connection.

The following clip is vintage Alan Berg, as he jostles with a caller about heaven and hell.